R426--Switchboard Operator The purpose of this modification is to answer vendor questions and extend the due date for quotes.

The due date for all quotes is 08:00 February 7, 2022.

Below are the responses to vendor questions.

Number

Question

Answer/Comments

1

Why is this solicitation being released at this time?

Ending of 1 year obligation

2

Will the new contractor be able to offer first refusal employment to the current incumbent s employees? If yes how soon can the new contractor engage with the current incumbent employees?

Yes (after bid has been awarded and accepted)

3

Are there any operator or supervisor workstations that have special equipment or software provided by the contractor such as software for the visually impaired? How many workstations have special equipment?

Yes (1)

4

Birmingham VAMC reported a call abandonment rate of 34.1% for the month of November 2020. Has the call abandonment rate improved under the new contract? What is the current call abandonment rate?

Our current call abandonment rate is 14.97% - (Below the required metric)

5

After analysis of call volumes and the 2020 headcount a recommendation to Birmingham VAMC was made in January 2021 to increase the operator count by 1 full-time position and 1 part-time position. How many operator positions are there currently at Birmingham VAMC?

1 Supervisor + 13 employees= 14 (We only have a total of 10 employees at this time)

6

If the call abandonment rate has been over the 5% stated goal over the past few months, would Birmingham VAMC consider increasing the operator headcount.

Yes (we are currently under-staffed) - Staffing is based on compliance with Abandonment Rate and Speed to Answer Rate

7

How many of the current operators are full time?

8

8

How many of the current operators are part time?

2

9

How many new operators were onboarded in 2021 at Birmingham VAMC?

14

10

Are there currently any lead operators in addition to the supervisor? How many lead operators?

Yes (1) Lead Operator

11

How many operator positions are currently vacant?

4

12

What challenges are facing the switchboard operations program that the VA would like to see resolved?

Meeting URAC Standards, Abandonment and Speed to Answer Rates

13

Could the VA provide a call logs report that show the dates and times of all received calls for an entire month? We would like to understand the call arrival pattern.

We do not keep Logs here at the BVAMC, however, we do have the ADC Report

14

The hourly wage determination provided with the solicitation lists 01460 Switchboard Operator/Receptionist as $14.12. Would the minimum hourly wage be $15 based executive order 14026?

Yes

15

What call center platform does Birmingham VAMC use? i.e. Cisco, Avaya, or etc.

CISCO

16

Will the government please provide the current contract number/task order number for which this work is being performed under?

36C24721P0363

17

Pg. 5, PWS 1.1.2 and 5.1.3 Will headsets be covered/provided by the government for contractor use? If not, should a contractor include this in our cost/price?

YES

18

Pg. 6, PWS 1.1.6 Will the government please confirm the call volumes are actually 50,000 calls monthly, averaging 600,000 calls per year? Or, are the 50,000 calls an annual call volume?

 Yes. We are averaging 600,000 calls annually.

20

Pg. 6, PWS 1.1.6. Will the VA provide the following call information so that an offeror can correctly price the requirement and ensure enough staffing is proposed to meet the service levels?

Weekdays: 7A-6P (07:00-18:00) Weekends: 8A 4P(08:00-16-00)

a. When are the peak call times weekdays and weekends?

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b. What is the maximum number of calls coming in per hour during peak times?

 We are averaging 227 calls per hour

c. What is the minimum number of calls coming in during off peak hours?

 We are averaging 43 calls.

d. What is the average number of calls from midnight to 6AM?

 We are averaging 18 calls.

e. What is the average number of calls for Saturday and Sundays?

 We are averaging 409 calls.

f. What is the average talk time of each operator?

 15 seconds

g. What is the average handle time of each operator?

It varies from 32 seconds minimum to 1min 25 seconds max.

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21

Pg. 8, PWS 2.1 Are incumbent personnel required to receive the 3-week on-the-job training (OJT) sessions under the new contract? Or, will the government waive this requirement for incumbent staff transitioning to the new contract?

No. This requirement will be waived for the incumbent staff members.

22

Pg. 8, PWS 2.2 Is this contract currently being fulfilled by an Ability One contractor?

 No

23

Pg. 8, PWS 2.2 Does this contract currently employ incumbent personnel that are blind or are affected by another disability? If so, how many incumbent personnel have disabilities and what type of disability do each have so that Offeror s may price the required adaptive equipment or software required in PWS 5.1.3?

 Yes. We currently have (1) one Blind employee and (1) one Paraplegic employee.

24

Pg. 14, PWS 4.1.6 does the government want the contractor to provide a separate Project Manager in addition to the Supervisor? Or, can the Supervisor serve as the Project Manager referenced in this PWS section? If PM is a different position than Supervisor, what are the minimum qualifications required by the government for the PM position?

 This will be at the discretion of the offeror.

25

Pg. 15, PWS 5.1.3 states that only 8 PCs with standard configurations will be provided for use under the contract. If the contractor s proposal requires staffing that is more than 8 FTEs working at a particular time period/shift, will the government provide extra PCs with configurations to support the additional staff? Or, is the contractor required to provide and price the equipment (work stations/PCs) into its FFP?

 Yes, the government will provide the PC s.

26

Pg. 15, PWS 5.1.3 states only 8 PCs will be provided. Pg. 38, B.2 CLINs state 7 workstations when fully staffed. Can the government clarify how many workstations and/or PCs they will provide for contractor use? And, if more workstations/PCs are required, will the government provide?

There are a total of 8 PCs and 8 workstations.

27

Pg. 26, PWS 10.2 when is the contractor required to submit its contingency plan? Is it required with the proposal response?

With the proposal response.

28

Pg. 38, B.2 Price/Cost Schedule. CLIN 0001 is described as 1 Switchboard Operators: minimum of 1 supervisor and 1 non-sighted operator on duty.

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a. Does this description mean that Offerors should price only 3 FTEs for each CLIN (1 operator, 1 supervisor and 1 non-sighted operator) for this CLIN? If not, what should be included in each CLIN price?

 Per the PWS

b. Are Offerors required to price and staff a non-sighted operator during each POP?

Yes. Only one non-sighted operator at a time.

c. Where should Offerors price adaptive equipment and software for non-sighted or disabled proposed personnel? Will a separate CLIN be provided?

 VA will provide

29

Pg. 71, Attachment IV item g states that offeror has any relevant performance references, the offeror should ensure the attached past performance evaluation form is properly completed and separately submitted by the offeror s references to the government by the time proposals are due. Can the VA please provide the past performance evaluation form that is required for Offeror clients to complete and submit?

 Yes

30

Pg. 65, item (b) (4) requires Offerors to submit a technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation.

a. Does the government want an Offeror to submit a full technical proposal? If so, which Attachment should that be provided in?

 No

b. If no technical proposal is required, then how will the government comparatively evaluate each Offeror s cost against proposed staffing for each CLIN? For example, if one Offeror proposing 7 operators versus another proposing 10 operators. Where should an Offeror define that difference in staffing that will be provided?

 As stated in the Solicitation

31

Will the government consider extending the proposal due date for 14 calendar days to allow contractors to review answers to questions and provide clients the required past performance evaluation form (per pg. 71) once provided by the government?

 That is covered in this amendment.

32

Pg. 5, PWS 1.1 states that contracting company shall have at least 5 years of experience providing type of service in a hospital setting. Can an Offeror have any type of call center experience (e.g., patient appointing, etc.) in a hospital setting to meet this requirement? Or, is only switchboard operations experience consider to meet this requirement?

 Hospital settings requirements includes experience in Code Blue and Code Stroke Calls.